a very slater christmas | addy, judas

[Claire Evangeline Slater]

never enough.

25th Dec 2025

CHRISTMAS AT THE SLATER'S COULD ONLY GO one of two ways. Either they didn't speak about anything meaningful, and they got along swimmingly. Or, something personal was weaponised and a debate broke out that razed the dinner table. This particular Christmas, Claire would not be playing mediator. In fact, she could barely stand to sit and eat her mother's dry turkey. Her mouth working around every bite with a savage intent, staring mutely at the table.

"Honestly, darling, I don't know what's gotten in to you." She heard her mother's voice, stern and reeking of parental disappointment. Neither of them had quite gotten over Claire's reassignment. Grinding her back teeth, she agreed diligently with her mother, as she always did. Grey's putrid stare burning a hole in the side of her head. They ate in relative silence, broken only by the occasional question about Addy's schooling. Nobody asked about Grey's position at the paper. Not even Claire, who had made a point of trying to include her brother in the past, in spite of their parent's obvious disapproval.

The plates were cleared with the sweep of a hand, Shela rising with a heavy sigh as if she'd washed them single-handedly. Claire flinched at the sound of it, her hands folded in the napkin at her lap. She was seething with anger, it lay clammy at the back of her neck. Tim rose without a second glance, probably to smoke a cigar out in the back garden before he spent the rest of the evening ignoring his offspring in favour of mulled wine and wizarding radio broadcasts.

Suddenly, it was just the three of them at the table. Claire lifting her head to finally cast her brother a scathing look. "Have you nothing to say?" She asked him carefully, casting a tentative look at Addilyn before turning the full force of her glare on her brother. "They don't even know it was you." She checked over her shoulder to make sure they weren't being overheard, terrified of her mother's suffocating judgement as she grabbed the napkin from her lap and slapped it on to the table in front of them. "Honestly, after everything I've done for you." And she stood up from her chair with furious flourish. 

addilyn elara slater , grey xavier slater

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[grey xavier slater]

▲

Obligations. That was the only reason he was sitting at the table for Christmas dinner and biting his tongue from making any snarky comments as his parents chastised and blew smoke out of every feasible orifice. He found it so much easier to see through it all now that he had spent a considerable amount of time away from them. Hogwarts had only been the first step, and now living on his own and away from the family was the second one. Hopefully the final, killing blow for it. He had hoped Claire would see through their nonsense by now, but every Christmas it seemed more and more like she enjoyed the praise they threw her way and relished hearing their wrath towards him. Addy was on neutral ground, though he couldn’t remember the last time they went one way or another with her. From his viewpoint, she had figured out a masterful way to play the Slater game, and was doing an excellent job at keeping herself in good graces while also being able to do what she wanted. He didn’t want to be a pessimist, but he wondered how long that could really last though, considering her own graduation was in less than half a year. Their parents had been hounding him by this point about his auror training, and from what he knew, they hadn’t done the same with Addy.

Thankfully dinner was wrapping up and it seemed like his presence was enough of an annoyance to his parents that they didn’t even bother asking anything about his job. That worked just as well for him. He was sure they had to have seen his name tagged on the weekly Quidditch leaderboard updates, as his dad was an avid follower of the sport. But that didn’t change anything. They had made their mind up that it was either a Ministry job or nothing. And the Prophet suited him just fine. Following the government’s whim wasn’t exactly his idea of a fun lifelong career, especially as an auror.

He was still chewing on a piece of turkey as the plates and dishes were whisked away from the table, parents disappearing just as quickly to their respective ends of the house, leaving just Grey and his sisters at the table. Claire had been staring daggers at him all evening, her scornful leer somehow avoiding questions from the rest of the family. None of them wanted to deal with him apparently. He had decided at this point that it was probably easier to just leave and head home, but Claire caught him first, her question cracking through the tension at the table. It had been what? Ten months? And she was still upset over the article that had been written? It was far from his fault for that. She shouldn’t have given up the MACUSA auror’s name. That was one of the first things they taught in training when it came to speaking to the press and the public.

“You’re starting to sound just like mum,” he responded, not flinching when she stood up from her spot at the table. She really was. He had heard that exact phrase a couple dozen times since he made the career change. Grey still didn’t even know what it was that any of them had done for him, other than criticize his choice of job. Thank Merlin his parents didn’t know about Cecelia yet. “See, I recall you slipping up and dropping the name in the middle of the hospital. Anyone within earshot could have run to the press with that. You weren’t exactly quiet about it.”

addilyn elara slater & Claire Evangeline Slater ● 604 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[addilyn elara slater]

in our family portrait

we look pretty happy

December 25, 2025
Claire Evangeline Slater ,
grey xavier slater

The holidays were such a wonderful and joyous time of year. At least for most families, it was. Addy did love her family. She enjoyed the time she could spend with her older brother and sister, mostly since she was alone at Hogwarts, but there was something that grew cold when they all sat around the dinner table. Most of the communication was done through not-so-subtle side glances, looks, and how their mother would clear her throat when you were speaking until she had to let her opinion be known. There seemed to be quite the focus on Claire and her job as an Auror at the Ministry. Addy expected more questions about her school activities, her grades, and what she was expecting to do after graduation. They always asked about her marks, and they were exceptional, as usual, and then the focus back on her sister. But Claire did what she always did and sat there and took it. They didn't seem to ask Grey many questions, which was unusual but then again, Claire's new situation might have been enough to capture her parent's full attention. They hadn't even noticed the looks that she'd been giving Grey, and Addy made a mental note to ask her sister later.

The turkey was dry, which was a compliment, but Addy smiled when her mother glanced at her in that appeasing sort of way as she pushed around most of the food on her plate. She had only been slightly nervous as Christmas day approached. Her mother and father didn't seem to drill her the same way she'd witness them drill Claire or Grey during their respective seventh years but watching it was enough to make her not want to experience that kind of blatant pressure, but she'd spent the last few years learning how to talk to them. How to avoid the obvious things that would upset them but playing a bit of the long game, perhaps she had learned how to walk the Slater minefield as the youngest child while Claire had been the first to walk through. Her mother made the last remark to Claire, and Addy watched her take it before clearing the table and leaving, along with their father--the usual Christmas tradition.

The room wasn't any less tense when they left, and Addy turned her head in confusion as Claire spoke to Grey. 'Have you nothing to say?' And Claire seemed to pause at her presence but continued nonetheless. Addy slowly looked at Grey to see how he would respond. This was the con to being the youngest, understandably out of the loop though she knew better than to interrupt these two when they got started. Claire's anger was evident, and Grey responded very simply--as if there was no reason for Claire to be angry. Addy was confused, and she stayed sitting in her chair, perfect posture as she placed her own napkin on the table. She wasn't sure who to ask first, but she defaulted to her sister. "Claire...what is this about?" If they were going to have this exchange in front of her, they might as well fill her in. Even their parents seemed to know more details than she did. But apparently, it involved her brother--suddenly, her own worries weren't at the top of her mind at the moment.

template by vee

[Claire Evangeline Slater]

never enough.

25th Dec 2025

ONCE THE DUST HAD SETTLED OVER THIS particular battle, Claire Slater might have the good sense to be embarrassed by her behaviour. Alas, hindsight could not be foretold, as none of the Slater's had been terribly gifted in Divination. In the moment, all Claire could see was her brothers drawn expression of concern as he'd listened to her. Appeared worried for her. And how foolish she had been not to see beyond that reeking brotherly affection.

"Oh, how very typical of you!" She said on a gust of haughty air. "Make me out to be the shrill, weeping mother." She tossed her hands in to the air, gesturing dramatically before they both dropped to her sides. Her voice hadn't risen, but it had taken on a rather shrill quality. Much to her own dismay, but she couldn't stop. She had started, she may as well finish. "Addy, I really wish you didn't have to see this." She said in a gruff whisper, casting a cautionary look over her shoulder to where Addy sat ramrod straight. The youngest Slater's eyes pinned like twin moon beams at full mast, staring with wild expectation. The Slater's loved a verbal brawl.

"The point is-" She began again, her platinum hair shivering around the tension in her shoulders as she jabbed her finger at Grey where he sat across the table, and to the right of her. "- that you heard me, you told them and you completely undermined my entire career in favour of your own." Her eyes shone, but not with tears. Claire would choke on her own vile anger before she shed a tear.

"I found out, you know." Her hands were trembling where she laid them flat on the table. "I put in a favour, I know it was you." She leaned across the pale white linen cover, bending at the waist as if she might crawl across the top just to lay her hands around his neck. "But, you know what the worst of it is?" It wasn't, but she couldn't help saying it. "It's that you didn't even have the balls to come out and say it was you." She turned her face then, like a viper about to strike as she caught Addy's eye once more. "Maybe it's better you do hear this," She addressed her suddenly. "Never too young to find out our dear brother is a spineless coward." Her back teeth noticeably grinding as she straightened suddenly. 

addilyn elara slater, grey xavier slater  again im sory for the wait... 

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[grey xavier slater]

▲

He didn’t really see where he was wrong about saying Claire sounded like their mother: she did. That was no surprise. She even went up in pitch the same way. How he had survived listening to it up until now was beyond him, since it was always one thing or the other. And now he had Claire on his case too. That was to be expected. Had he screwed up by accidentally telling the editor he was under that he had run into his sister at the hospital? Not really. Had he thought that they would put two and two together and realize that she was the one that had spilled the beans about the American Auror’s name? Absolutely not. The Daily Prophet didn’t really care who they threw under the bus when it came to the Ministry. That was exactly why he disliked the normal news sections. Quidditch was cut and dry stats and facts. If readers wanted player gossip, there were hundreds of tabloid magazines for that. But when it came to the regular section of the Prophet, sensational titles and ledes were what pulled the readers in.

The way Claire was blowing this all up though, he didn’t really feel inclined to apologize about that screw up. As much as he disliked her attitude at times (specifically like right now), he wasn’t going to use his own sister as a pedestal to get to where he wanted at the office. That was too underhanded for him, even if he was a journalist. Harmless white-lies to get where he needed to be was more along his line of work, and no one was going to get angry at a Quidditch reporter hanging around outside the locker rooms following a match.

Grey leaned back into his chair even more than he already had been, crossing his arms in front of him as he waited for the ensuing verbal assault that he was about to receive. Addy had a front row view to it all, and even though Claire apologized to her, she was still going all in with her rage-fueled words. Telling him how she used a favor to find out it was him, which he assumed she knew already, and then blasting him over not even using his own name on the article. He doubted her career was actually in jeopardy, otherwise she would have told their parents already and then he would have actually been lambasted over the situation. Since it hadn’t come to that, she was probably perfectly fine. She forgot he had gone through six months of Auror training and knew what some of the inner workings were like.

Once it seemed like she had finished, he sat up straight and made direct eye-contact with her, “What, you think they could be any more disappointed in me than they already are? Why didn’t you tell them? They would’ve believed you,” Grey reasoned. If she was this pissed off over not keeping her mouth shut, then she shouldn’t have said anything to begin with. And if it hadn’t been him, then it would have been a different intern. And they would have immediately given her name upon returning to the office.

Aggressively sliding his chair back from the table, he stood up and started walking out of the dining room and towards the sitting room where their mother was already halfway through a glass of wine. He decided then and there that it was easier to cut it all at the same time. “Happy Christmas mum. I’m the one that gave Claire’s name to the paper,” he said loud enough so that everyone within earshot could hear him. He didn’t even bother to look her in the eyes as she slowly realized what he said, already speeding off to the front door to start putting his shoes on. There was a loud shriek from where he had just been as he slid his first arm through his jacket, scuffing his foot into his right shoe as he tried to make his hasty retreat.

addilyn elara slater & Claire Evangeline Slater ● 677 ● Africa by TOTO

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[addilyn elara slater]

in our family portrait

we look pretty happy

December 25, 2025
Claire Evangeline Slater ,
grey xavier slater

There was tension in the air between her older brother and sister, which in itself didn’t entirely alarm her, but the lack of context did. Something had happened for Claire to look at Grey in that way and for Grey to act so nonchalantly. Thankfully their parents were not in the room for Claire’s increasingly dramatic gestures and antics as they certainly wouldn't have approved, and then came the tone and statement that almost had her agreeing with Grey. Surely Addy was old enough by now. She was of age, and with Grey’s career at the Prophet and Claire’s career as an Auror, wouldn’t Addy find out sooner or later. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she held her tongue rather than risk being collateral damage in Claire’s barrage of accusations. But as Claire pointed her finger at Grey, Addy slowly watched her brother, who didn’t seem fazed by the words.

But Addy listened to what Claire said, and she waited for her brother’s response. Would he defend himself and say it was all a lie? The other option was to take the blame, but it left her with an uneasy feeling. They had their goals in life, the vicarious aspirations, and expectations of their parents. Still, Addy had never thought that stepping on the heads of her older siblings would get her ahead as much as her own ambition and natural ability. Is that what Grey had done? There was a slight pause, and instinctively she looked up at Claire, who chose to address her now. Now that there was a moment to breathe, Addy finally spoke—she hadn’t wanted to risk interrupted Claire and receive the same treatment Grey was. ”Grey, is this true?” But Addy knew she probably wouldn’t get an answer when Grey finally responded to Claire, even sitting up in his chair with that perfect Slater posture.

It was a battle of personalities, of individuality grating against who they were trained to be. And when Grey stood up out of his chair, Addy followed him with her eyes until he was out of the dining room, and then she looked at Claire. Addy loved her brother, but her instinct always pushed her to look at Claire—she knew what to do, she always had the correct answer. Right? But, she heard Grey’s voice carry from the living room, and she left her own seat, but then he finished his statement before she could reach the doorway, and then she stopped in her tracks. ”Oh no…” Addy managed to mutter before her mother’s all too familiar shriek reached her ears. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. This wasn’t good. She figured it would be about another nine seconds or so until her father rejoined them. What a Happy Christmas this was turning out to be.

template by vee

[Claire Evangeline Slater]

never enough.

25th Dec 2025

THERE WAS BUT A MOMENT OF VINDICATION FOR Claire. Where she felt purged of that vicious vengeance once her words had bounced around the dining room before finding Grey and Addilyn sincerely. It didn't last long, though. Grey fired back in earnest, though he appeared entirely unruffled. Much to Claire's absolute fury. Why hadn't she told them? The thought hadn't even occurred to her as she straightened slowly, nostrils flaring. She had spent so much of her time trying to shield Grey from their parent's ever-present criticism - in her own way - that she hadn't thought to burn him along with her.

"I-" She stuttered, a muscle by her left eye twitching harshly. Claire hadn't another moment to consider it as Grey was pushing away from the table with a noisy screech of wooden chair legs. Claire's hands clasped in front of her anxiously, her eyes widening as she realised Grey wasn't storming off home with the last word. He was heading for the front room, where their mother was probably drinking Glühwein and listening to the wireless wizarding radio feed. There was always a seasonal special, though Claire had never thought why. It was terribly boring.

Shuffling after him, Claire reached to grab Grey's shirt but missed. He had always been a little too quick for her. She scuttled after him, almost colliding with his back as she heard those fatal words echo across the cramped living room. She gasped, grabbing the hallway wall to steady herself as a bomb was detonated right on the living room's shag rug. Claire pushed off from the wall with a grumble deep in her chest, face flaming red as she stormed to the front room just as Shela Slater wailed like one of them was dead. Ambition was everything, after all. But, sometimes so was loyalty. And Grey was already a flaming disappointment.

He didn't even look at her as he fled, leaving Claire to crash in to the door frame as she saw her mum half standing. Her crystal glass of Glühwein tilted at a dangerous angle. The carpet was cream, if Shela spilled it she would go in to mourning. Claire approached her with caution, hands out like she was taming a wild animal. "Mum, mummy, calm down." She steadied the bell of the glass in her mother's hand. "He's lying." She gave a hysterical half-laugh. "Trying to take the heat off, eh?" She snorted falsely, lifting her head to catch her father where he had frozen with his head hanging through the living room's side window. A plume of sticky cigar smoke staining the PVC pane.

"Bad joke!" She declared. "Is that DeathMetalKrinkel?" Claire asked dumbly, changing the subject as a tinkling Christmas melody came whistling through the radio's speakers. It most certainly was not. Shela sat down heavily, heaving a sigh of relief as she gulped from her glass. Tim's head bobbed out of view, leaving behind a streak of smoke as he retreated back to his beloved moment of peace and Claire edged back out of the room stiffly. She closed the door behind her softly, casting a hasty muffling spell across it before she turned to chase Grey to the front door.

Both shoes on and the front door halfway opened, Grey had almost made his great escape when Claire caught him. Her wand pulled from the strap on her forearm as she whipped the tip towards him, binding his legs all at once before she let her eyes wheel around the skinny hallway. "You-" She ground out, her wandless hand clawed in animal fury. When her eyes caught the small bundle of decorative gift bags stacked at the bottom of the stairs she grabbed one. The she turned and stormed towards her brother. Hand reaching back for maximum impact as she began to beat him with the glittery bag. The insides light but with enough heft and hard edges to hurt just enough. It was satisfying. One across his back, then his shoulder and lastly his head. Claire punctuated each blow with words;

"You- Hapless- Troll!" She told him, lifting her leg to stamp on his bound toes for added effect. "I can't believe you did that!" Claire seethed, glaring openly at her brother. "Are you trying to give mum a heart attack?" She asked him, panting as she did. "Or, maybe you want them to be angry with you. God forbid one of us takes the limelight for just a moment!" This was, of course, an exaggeration, but Claire could have wept with frustration. She'd wanted her brother to apologise, not ruin another Slater Christmas. 

addilyn elara slater , grey xavier slater  again im sory for the wait... 

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[grey xavier slater]

▲

Grey needed new shoes. Mainly because the heels of the pair he was trying to get his feet into were bent out of shape and broken down, caused by a lack of untying them due to his own laziness. They functioned worse than a pair of slides probably would at this point. If they hadn’t been as beat up as they were, his departure from the Slater house would have been quick. Instead, he heard Claire enter the room their mother was in after he dipped out of the doorway, spew something to calm her down, and then felt his legs immediately lock up at the knees. It had been years since he had felt a leg-lock spell cast on him, and being completely caught off guard, he tipped over, falling against the front door and closing his pathway to escape in front of him.

Claire was faster than him, and he felt the hard paper corners of a gift bag hit his back, followed by his arm and head. For added effect, she stepped on his feet as well, which lead to one of his shoes popping all the way. The worst of it though? The spew of glitter that showered him with every impact. A speck immediately landed in one of his eyes as he tried to protect his face from the attack, causing an instantaneous irritation. It was a pitiful assault but long overdue. He was simply lucky that the leg binding hadn’t brought his head down onto the door frame, though the glitter in the eye was absolutely the worst of his problems now.

“Merlin, Claire, any louder and they’ll think they’ve got a ghoul in the house,” he hissed back as he rubbed at his bothered eye, “What do you want from me then? Would you rather have them pissed at you for the rest of the weekend, or me? Because I’ll gladly take the fall if you want them to think you’re perfect again. Hell, we might as well tell them who I’ve been shagging too while we’re at it. They’ll love knowing she’s a vampire and Desirae Rousseau’s sister. Then you can have your fantasy back.” As he finished his spiel angrily, he reached out for his askew shoe, trying to drag it back onto his locked up foot.

addilyn elara slater & Claire Evangeline Slater ● 386 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[addilyn elara slater]

in our family portrait

we look pretty happy

December 25, 2025
Claire Evangeline Slater ,
grey xavier slater

Addy watched as Claire attempted to stop Grey after realizing where he was going. The slight pause after Grey finished speaking and her mother’s response was an eerily still silence. Like the eye of a passing storm before the destruction continued. Why was he doing this? And then Sheila’s reaction, and not an entirely unfamiliar one, unfortunately. From Addy’s perspective, it seemed that her brother was content to live in the hole he dug for himself, and apparently, he was satisfied with continuing to dig it deeper. It pained Addy to see her parent's constant disappointment in Grey because she knew he was competent. Both Claire and Addy’s eyes grew wide at the tilted wine glass ’not the carpet’ Oh, anything but the carpet. Addy had made that mistake as a child and had never forgotten how Sheila had lamented about her beloved cream carpet. Addy wondered who had died.

Claire seemed to diffuse the situation with their mother while their father retreated back to his previous position. Addy instead turned down the hallway to approach her brother. ”Grey what are you trying to—“ She began asking (but not too loudly), wondering just how this day could possibly get any worse. Then suddenly, he fell face forward and almost entirely into the door which closed it. Glancing behind her, she saw Claire with her wand out—stomping toward him. And before she knew it, Claire had grabbed one of the gift bags and began beating Grey with it. She swore she heard something break inside the bag as the more hits Claire landed on Grey, the more she heard things colliding in the bag. The only reason Addy didn’t intervene sooner was because of the sight before her. It immediately reminded her of her Gryffindor classmates, and then she remembered that both of her siblings had been in Gryffindor.

Rolling her eyes and letting out a frustrated sigh, she moved forward and grabbed Claire’s arm, and took the bag out of her hand. Most of the glitter seemed to have come off the sides to reveal the plain white material underneath. Even then, glitter escaped and began to cover Addy’s shirt. ”Claire—stop.” She shook her head, placing the bag on the floor nearby while she reached for her wand to cast the counter-spell to unlock her brother’s legs. ”You’re both being ridiculous.” Perks of being of age now, whereas she wouldn’t have been able to free Grey from her sister’s wrath. But they were both acting like all the Gryffindor classmates she was friends with. And Grey wasn’t helping his case because he continued to speak and continue to dig that hole, but then he said that name, and even Addy froze, wondering if she should re-lock his legs. ”You what?” Not that Addy had any interest in who Grey was sleeping with, but she recognized that name from the papers and how her parents touted Claire’s involvement in such events at the time. "That's not funny, Grey." Addy looked at Grey before looking back at Claire and pausing. Looking back she decided Grey should stay just where he was and since her wand was still out--cast the curse to re-lock his legs. 

template by vee

[Claire Evangeline Slater]

never enough.

25th Dec 2025

IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR THE HAND GRIPPING Claire's swinging arm, she might have beaten Grey with the gift bag until it fell apart. Instead, she had simply marred them both with a slew of glitter. It stuck in her lashes, and clung to the skin of her palm where she still gripped it, head snapping around to find that it had been Addy who had intervened. Her face cold, but almost stern so that she felt scolded. She drew in a shaky breath, but let go. Grey's voice pulling her attention back around with a barely contained fury.

"I-" She immediately went to interrupt him, but stopped. Mouth open and face flushed. He had reduced her to their parent's hopeless puppet, as if all she cared about was their approval. Claire did care about it, so much so that her entire public life was nearly dictated by their careful approval. That was not why she was upset, though. Her face crumpling with a mixture of rage and despair. "You think I can't cope with their disapproval?" She asked him after he'd stopped to breath, Addy's exclamation making Claire lift a hand to halt her onslaught as she continued passionately. "Just because I do what they expect of me, doesn't mean that's why I do it." She declared, which was a half-truth.

"You made it seem like you were worried about me," She began anew, jabbing a finger in to her brother's glittered chest. "I don't care if it was you who verbally told the paper about the leak." She shook her head, nostrils flaring as she got very close to her brother's face. "You did what you did because you wanted to get your foot in the door, so you don't get to talk about my desire to be perfect." Her teeth were clenched painfully. "You used me, and then you didn't even have the decency to apologise." There was a fresh glisten in Claire's eyes as her bottom lip trembled, but she didn't dare cry.

Pulling away sharply, Claire's face smoothed carefully as she drew in a steadying breath. "Tell them whatever you want, step on all of their toes and blow up the conservatory for all I care." She told him, mouth pursed and jaw squared. "I will not clean up any more of your petulant, pathetic little rebellions." She looked down her nose at him, an expression she had never quite utilised for her brother before. She'd never felt the need to. "And don't even try telling me that you never asked me to!" Claire held up a hand to stop him, anticipating the retort. "I did it because I cared about what they thought of you, even when you didn't." Claire turned and tossed the gift bag at the bottom of the stairs, the damage well and truly done.

"You're just as shallow and ambitious and selfish as I am, Grey," Claire explained, a cruel curl to her lips. "What makes you so insufferable as that you're still determined to think that you're better than all of us!" Her voice raised, reaching a furious before she reeled it in sharply. "Now I get to storm off and be dramatic while you clean up a mess for once."

Claire turned to Addy all at once, pulling the hair from around her face in an attempt to regain her carefully maintained composure. "I'm sorry about that," She ignored Grey. "If you need anything, just use the floo, or something." She cleared her throat, barely meeting her eyes as she turned and headed for the door, refusing to look at her brother again as she headed down the front steps, sending an 'accio' over her shoulder to gather her coat and bag without a backwards glance. 

addilyn elara slater , grey xavier slater  

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[grey xavier slater]

▲

The problem with the scuffle at hand was that there were two very separate problems colliding with one another, mostly because he and Claire had an issue with pulling them apart without them slamming back into each other. He disliked that their relationship was rubber band-like; they couldn’t escape without coming to a head at some point. Going nuclear in the manner he had just tried should have been the final nail in the coffin for him when it came to dealing with his parents. Claire’s panic and immediate attempt at putting out the fire before it even started to smoke was astonishing, especially considering with her rebuttal. To say he was shocked that she could even talk that way would be an understatement. He had thought that a few years out of school and into work would have cured her of her constant need for approval, but apparently being the golden child at home and in the Auror department had finally taken control over her completely. Grey pitied her. The total lack of autonomy was so glaringly obvious that it was sad. If he had gotten his way moments earlier, it would have shattered her entire world. He had gotten halfway there with the article, unintentionally of course.

He took it all. Everything she had to get out, even if he disagreed with it, was better out than in. At least now he knew what she really thought of him. The thought of her ‘caring’ about what their parents thought about him felt flat and fake, though there was probably somewhere in there that she thought that to be true. The only reason she had ever done that was probably only to keep her own neck safe. Because once he floundered she would be next on the chopping block of scrutiny. Seeing her flail around like she was tonight only proved that the line between where they currently were and that happening was very close. Addy was safe from it all, somehow, but she also wasn’t to blame for any of this. Like Claire put it at the end of her rant, they were both selfishly ambitious. Except that their goals went in opposite directions and any time either of them tried to make headway, the other was often pulled back in. Which was exactly why he was fine with being labeled the bad guy here.

Watching her storm out of the house, he moved out of the way in time for her bag to miss his head, but the jacket pulled itself over his back aggressively. He could only assume that was on purpose at this point. One last jab. Turning his back on the open door and to Addy, who had been unwillingly dragged into the spat, he sighed and pulled his wand out. Swirling it around his head, the glitter that had erupted from the gift bag all over his body and the front entrance was vacuumed into the ether. That was the least he could do at this point. Make it look like he hadn’t caused a problem in the first place. “I’m uhh…sorry about that,” he mumbled to Addy as he started to pull his own jacket on to leave. “We should’ve dealt with that in private. I shouldn’t’ve done any of that in the first place, but it’s way too late for that now.” He really doubted that any sort of apology to Claire would seem sincere at this point, not that it ever would have been prior to this. “I think it’s best if I don’t come around for a while…” Grey trailed off as he also shuffled outside of the house. There wasn’t anything else he could do at this point, and even despite his attempt to fix Claire’s situation with their parents (in his own way), she couldn’t handle that. Slinking back off into his own self-pity and work-driven life was better than trying to balance whatever had just happened at every family get-together. Because that sucked.

addilyn elara slater & Claire Evangeline Slater ● 667 ● Communion of the Cursed by Ice Nine Kills

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[addilyn elara slater]

in our family portrait

we look pretty happy

December 25, 2025
Claire Evangeline Slater ,
grey xavier slater

Addy wondered how different the aftermath might have looked if she hadn’t restrained Claire. Luckily, it hadn’t been difficult. The fury that had erupted from her older sister wasn’t new, but it was something she had so seen so rarely for herself. Claire was someone that Addy looked up to in many ways, and she was the example her parents had pushed for her to follow. Unfortunately, sometimes she felt she had Claire’s ambition but Grey’s luck when it came to such things. Looking down, the floor was covered in glitter from the bag. But so were their clothes and especially Grey. Shaking her head, Addy felt frustrated at their behavior, like she was dealing with members of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and Brigh’s housemates. Then her sister’s hand was in her face, and Addy shooking her head slightly, taking a few steps back and crossing her arms.

Claire’s voice and tone grew more angry and impassioned, and Addy nervously glanced at the hallway, wondering if she would hear her mother’s footsteps soon at the commotion that had been caused. The things that Claire said, well, it only highlighted the differences between all of them. But Addy stood to the side. Intervening again didn’t seem like a good idea, and she figured Claire would tell her to stand aside regardless. Finally, she stopped and turned to Addy before she left out the front door—her personal possessions summoned as she walked. And maybe it was the intent of her summoning spell or just coincidence that Claire’s items almost took out Grey as he stood back up. Addy’s arms were still crossed, her wand still in one hand as she let out a sigh.

Grey left, having cleaned up the glitter, and Addy took a moment to adjust to the newfound quiet. That gift bag was destroyed at the stairs, and she picked it up, dropping more glitter to the floor. ”Nothing like the holidays…” She muttered sarcastically to herself as she repaired the bag to the best of her ability and cleaned up the glitter as her brother had done before, hoping her parents wouldn’t notice.

[ end ]

template by vee